I am completely agree with the person who gave us the way of "Self Learning" which tells us that you have to bring recorder and cassettes then start to speak about any subject comes across your mind. after that listen to your speaking MANY TIMES then you can easily figure out your weakness points and you can see how good you are in speaking? And you will know who you start your conversation with polite words and sentences.

Start do that job always and time to time see how many changes have you done during short period

I really appreciate you all for your nice information and 4 subjects you submit

QUOTING Alkhader AliI am completely agree with the person who gave us the way of "Self Learning" which tells us that you have to bring recorder and cassettes then start to speak about any subject comes across your mind.

Yes,... and nowadays, with gimmicks like mini MP3 recorder and player,.. the problem of feeling embarassed being seen carrying a big mini-cassette-recorder is solved.

My private students do this when they attend seminars, business presentation, even English-speaking church sermons ...They just record them, bring home and copy onto their computer hardrive and use them as self-learning listening exercises.

i'm new here. i really need your help. some people says that we can improve our english by speaking with people. but then, i dont have enough confidence to speak, especially with people who speaks english fluently. please give some advice and motivate me because i really need it and please corrent my sentence. Thank you very much

Don't worry about it. Native speakers actually like it when you speak English. They can see you're making an effort. I grew up in rural Canada speaking only French. When I turned 16, I decided to go to an English school in Montreal. I didn't have much confidence at first either... Oral exams were a complete nightmare, as well as the essays we had to hand in. That was until I met some people who were interested in the same stuff as me. I say you should get to know some people, no matter how hard it can seem to you. You will notice that the more you know someone, the more confident you will get, and your English will improve considerably over the months :D

HI guys been here twice now,i always like to go into forums because i like to share some of my ideas too.Right now i am in Asia doing some schooling.I have the opportunity of tutoring some Koreans here & what i did is read,read,read & read books to widen my vocabularies.It's quite hard to teach them cause some of them don't really speak the language,but mind you they're really good at grammar.It is just the way you view things i guess,if you think it's easy it will be easy, just practice,practice & practice the language.This is where i am now,there's some forums in there too that you can read & get some tips in speaking the language.

As Pirate said about his/her Australian English teacher, trying to practice speaking English alone might be one of those useful ways of practicing our speaking skills. I believe this proves effective, at least I figured it out when I was once informed of this trick by one of the best English teachers I had back in 2002. He once told me he used to practice speaking all by himself and that trick worked for him. I don't know if this trick can work for anybody else. Despite the need for being good at speaking, I've rarely spoken myself. The truth is, I've always found it much more effective when I speak with a partner (especially a good friend), as I can more easily come up with lots of ideas.

Hi i just registered and i agree with you guys, i always watch tv, hear music to improve my english, but if you learn a new word and you dont practice every day you will never going to improve your english... i really thank you for the tips.

myenglishtutor wrote:Hi,I think your accent is probably the least important part about learning your language. ... The most important part of learning English is increasing your vocabulary, perfecting your grammar, getting the pronunciation right and learning the different idioms

I completely agree with you.

For an ESL student, the speaking practice is pretty difficult because sometimes it's hard to find someone to speak with. For my case, I've joined an English Club in my city and it has helped me alot.

Good communication comes in many forms and styles. No rule is ever set in stone and breaking the rules can sometimes be the best way to get your point across. You should figure out what works best for you and develop your own style.

Whenever you do speak, always dress appropriately. You should look at least as good as your audience does. If you are appearing as an authority on your subject, dress better than your audience, if possible.

Always try to be informed on your subject. An audience can usually tell if you don't know what you are talking about. If someone asks a question you don't have the answer to, it is okay to say that you aren't sure. Be especially careful when your words may have undesired consequences.

If you're speaking as a resource speaker for an audience, it wouldn't hurt to start off with a joke especially if you're nervous. This will help break the ice and whatever wall is between you and the audience. It can also help your confidence.

You also have to speak slowly! If you're speaking too fast, you have the tendency to stutter and to get lost in thought. When you're speaking slowly, you can gather your thoughts while you're speaking and you can also focus on proper pronunciation.

I agree that you shouldn't be afraid to commit mistakes. Even the best english speakers commit mistakes as well. Just be confident and know how to handle mistakes correctly. Just laugh it off, learn from it and continue! :)

If you're going to speak in front of an audience as a speaker, make sure that you know your material by heart! Don't rely too much on your prepared materials. You should know the subject by heart which will give you more confidence.

If you're going to speak in front of an audience, have idiot cards instead of having your whole speech in front of you. Idiot cards or cue cards work best in small index cards. Just write down the topics and guides of what you're going to talk about. Not only will it look more natural, it can develop your speaking skills as well.

mathewhayden wrote:Here are some tips by me to you for a good speaking skill. To speak fluently, first you should have confidence in yourself for a good start. And then choose any topic and start writing on that topic first and then take a recorder and start saying what you have written. Then you hear it and notice where you are in fault and then improve it.

Great tips. If you don't believe in yourself, why should your listeners believe in you?